Connect

1. Begin with prayer.
2. Are you an early bird or a night hawk? Share how your preference impacts your life and work.

Discuss            

1. If you were to give this parable a title, what would it be?
2. Imagine for a minute that you didn’t have the interpretation of this parable. Do you think you could understand it? What points would you get from this parable? What emotions does this parable evoke in you? Why?
3. Was it unfair of Jesus to obscure His teaching from some people and only give the personal explanation to those who were willing to listen? Why or why not? How does this fit in with your understanding of God’s unconditional love? What other Scripture passages or stories support this exclusivity?
4. Think of a difficult situation with a friend or family member (like Paul confronting Peter in Galatians 2). What bubbles up from inside you as a response to this situation? It is organic like the growth of a seed or mechanical like the pounding of a hammer? What things in your life can impede a gospel-centred response?
5. We have more knowledge about God’s Word than any previous generation; yet it has been noted that we are also more biblically illiterate than any other generation. If someone asked you to recommend one thing that you do consistently to plant God’s Word deep in your hearts, what would you say? What other tools/resources/people help you dig the gospel deep into your life?
6. What human initiative can you take to dig God’s Word into your heart so that you bear 30-100 fold? What do you need God to do in your life so you can bear 30-100 fold? What do you plan to do this week to apply what you have learned?

Pray

1. Ask the Lord to continually show you how the weakness of the seed of the gospel can become power in your life if you will allow it to go deep, far beyond the cares and concerns of this world, into the hidden areas of your life that desperately need change. Pray that the gospel is far more than information to you so that your life will yield much fruit for God’s glory. Ask Jesus to take the seed that has been planted and grow it into something beautiful and timeless, something that will break through the hard marble slabs that keep us from knowing Jesus fully.